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contents THE FUN SIDE OF VEGETARIAN LIVING 09 HOT SHEET 11 VEGAN 101 12 YOGA FOR THE VEGGIE SOUL 14 JUICE GURU Learn how to make your body a better fat burner in just 5 minutes. pg. 20

FAMILY & LIFESTYLE 17

EASY WAYS TO STAY FIT ON YOUR BUSINESS TRIP

by Carolyn Scott-Hamilton

20

NO TIME TO EXERCISE? DISCOVER THE POWER OF THE 5 MINUTE FITNESS BREAK Discover the simple secrets to staying fit on your business trips. pg. 17

by Lani Muelrath, MA

24

WOULD YOU LIKE SOME FISH BLADDERS WITH THAT CHARDONNAY?

by Cheryl Murphy Durzy

FEATURE 26 POTATOES ARE FOR EATING:

GET OFF YOUR COUCH AND GIVE YOUR BODY WHAT IT NEEDS Still want to know where this vegan gets his protein? Find out on pg. 41

by Drs. Brian Clement and and Anna Maria Gahns-Clement

contents NUTRITION AND THRIVING IT’S NOT THE CHICKEN IN 31

YOUR SOUP THAT STOPS A COLD OR FLU

by Dr. Janice Stanger

SKIP THE WHITE RICE 34 AND LOWER YOUR RISK OF DIABETES

by Dr. Joel Fuhrman

VEGETARIANS LIVE LONGER 38

by Pamela A. Popper, Ph.D., N.D.

50 CHERIE SORIA Winter Harvest Wheat Grass Blast

53 CHEF CHLOE Garlic Sesame Soba Noodle Panang Curry

SPOTLIGHT ON COMPASSION 58 ETHICAL EATING AND RELIGION: WHAT WOULD THE BUDDHA SAY? Dr. Will Tuttle

ORDINARY PEOPLE/ EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS PACKING ON LEAN MUSCLE 41

WITH PLANT-BASED NUTRITION

by Brendan Brazier

RECIPES FOR FOODIES MARK REINFELD 46 Raw Pear Tart With Cashew Cream and Fresh Berries Raw Ravioli with Sun Dried Tomato Sauce

REGULARS 05

CREDITS

06

EDITOR’S NOTE

62

REVIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

65

OFF THE BOOKSHELF

VegWorld Staff & Contributing Writers

A Message from the Editor of VegWorld Magazine, Steve Prussack

Vegworld’s Pick of the month - Ladybug Jane

Effortless Mind by Ajayan Borys

CREDITS VegWorld Staff Founder/ Publisher: Steve Prussack Associate Editor: Julie Varon Magazine Layout: Lise-Marie Coetzee Graphic Design: Veronique Zayas Media: Raw Edge Productions Cover and Feature Photography: Melissa Schwartz (www.vgirlsvguys.net)

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ajayan Borys

Carolyn Scott-Hamilton

Brendan Brazier

Lani Muelrath, M.A.

Dr. Brian Clement

Dr. Pam Popper

Chloe Coscarelli

Mark Reinfeld

Cheryl Murphy Durzy

Cherie Soria

Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Dr. Janice Stanger

Ally Hamilton

Dr. Will Tuttle

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EDITOR’s NOTE

A Message from the Editor of VegWorld Magazine, Steve Prussack

W

elcome to another issue of VegWorld Magazine. Our magazine continues to grow and was recently featured as the #1 magazine in Apple’s Newsstand “What’s Hot” section.

Thanks to your positive reviews and feedback, our magazine is receiving mainstream attention and thus spreading our important message to readers worldwide. Thank you for your continued support!

D

uring the winter months, we can sometimes become less active especially in colder climates. This issue focuses on the importance of exercise to your good health, vitality, longevity and mental acuity well into old age. We also include exercise videos and secrets on how to incorporate more activity into even the busiest lifestyles.

T W Y

here was once a time when plant eaters were judged as “skinny,” “weak,” and lacking in the nutrients needed to build and maintain muscle. This outdated paradigm has been disproven, as more and more top competiting athletes not only achieve incredible results but even find they have a competitive edge, following a vegan diet. hat does this mean for you? It means that choosing a plant-based lifestyle is not only the best decision for your health, conscious growth, connection to the planet and all its creatures, it will also help you get that terrific beach-body physique and give you the edge you need to keep it. ou may ask, but isn’t being vegan enough to keep me healthy and ensure I have a long life? As you will learn this month from Dr. Brian Clement and others, exercise is necessary to keep our bodies and minds operating the way nature intended. We need a balance of all elements to really thrive and live the best life possible. Our decision on what we eat is important. But we must also move and exercise our body to maintain youthful energy and

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EDITOR’s NOTE

A Message from the Editor of VegWorld Magazine, Steve Prussack secure a long life.

Y

ou may also wonder: isn’t it superficial to care about how we look when there is so much suffering in the world? But exercise is about much more than looks. Its about mental and physical health. More than this, I have found that there is not better way to spread the veggie message than to lead by example. Better than trying to explain the benefits of a veggie lifestyle, what better way than present a balance, healthy body physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally? A big part of our magazine is connecting the dots to not just living, but taking your life to the next level. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Publisher of VegWorld Magazine

Subscribe free to VegWorld Magazine to hear an exclusive interview with John Robbins this month.

Connect With Us

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The Fun Side

Of Vegetarian Living

Hot Sheet Vegan 101 Yoga Juice Guru

Vegan Hot Sheet hip and happening vegan stuff

Morrissey, former frontman for rock band The Smiths, attempted to make history at the Staples Center in Los Angeles by holding the first ever all vegetarian concert this month. The rocker is a long-time vegan and animal rights activist. His strong request was all that all vendors in and around the Center be fully vegetarian.

While Morrissey’s request was not granted in full, his bold request made national news and raised the issue of vegetarianism to a new, mainstream audience. Also, all McDonald kiosks were closed in honor of Morrissey’s wishes. However, top levels of the venue offered both vegetarian and meat options. We respect Morrissey’s heroic efforts to stay true to his morals and spread the message of compassion to the mainstream.

Vegan Babies

Many veg-conscious parents, including celebrities, are now opting to extend their lifestyle choices to their newborn.

This growing trend is not only ethically superior, but the best head start you can give your baby for a life of good health.

Vegan Treats at Oscars this Year

Vegan couture hits the runway with a splash this season: Vegan activist Leanne Maily Hilgart’s vegan ready-to-wear fashion collection was showcased in the New York Fashion Week. There is an increasing interest in vegan fashion as more people turn toward an animal-free diet.

According to an article by Jill Reilly in the Daily Mail, chef Wolfgang Puck included kale salad and vegan pizzas in the menu for the Governor’s Ball, the post Academy Awards movie party.

NEW ‘EARTH BALANCE’ SNACKS Earth Balance has long been providing the vegan community with delicious transitional snacks and treats, and their new line of plantbased snacks appears to be no different. Their latest tasty products include peanut butter pops, buttery popcorn, cheese flavor popcorn, and aged white cheddar flavor puffs, and they are set to hit stores soon. Yes, they are all vegan!

New Vegan Talk Show!

Recently, Veria Living TV hosted the launch of a new U.S. vegan talk show called ‘What Would Julianna Do?’ starring expert plant-based nutritionist Julianna Hever. This health-orientated talk show discusses topics like cooking, fitness, beauty, and fashion, and features a wide range of guests from vegan professional athletes to celebrity chefs.

COOL CUPS NATURAL SNACKS If you’ve been searching for vegan jello, Cool Cups are a major score. These brand-new delicious snacks are gelatin free, gluten free, fat free, dairy free, GMO free, made without artificial colors and preservatives, high In Vitamin C, less than 95 Calories Per serving, and vegan.

Whew!

The Lotus and The Artichoke

A new multicultural cook book/ travel log ‘The Lotus and The Artichoke’ was recently released to a worldwide audience. The book includes personal contributions from vegan backpackers, travelers, and food-enthusiasts from all around the world, and it makes for an inspiring read.

Vegan101

101

A Quick and Dirty Guide For The Veg-Curious

Where do you get your protein? This month, we bust the myth that vegans struggle to get enough protein in their diets. We also share ideas for transition as well as some of the healthiest recommendations for getting your protein.

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Ally’s Corner: Yoga for the Veggie Soul

Ally’s Corner:

Yoga for the Veggie soul

by Ally Hamilton

Hello Vegan Yogis!

I know this month’s theme is vegan fitness. So I designed a sequence that builds strength in the core and in the shoulders, allowing you to feel centered and able to handle anything life throws at you. In yoga, we’re always looking to move from the core, and that’s a literal, physical idea, but it’s also a philosophical one.

The more you feel connected to what is true

for you, the easier it is to move through the world with focus and purpose.

It’s helpful if you have a blanket or towel nearby. You’ll need it for the core strengthening part. This is a faster flow, but please go at a pace that feels right for you, listen to your body, and modify anything you’d like. Stay connected to your breath, and just start where you are! Wishing you love and strength!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ally Hamilton practiced yoga in New York City with the incomparable Dharma Mittra. She has been teaching yoga to students and instructors in Los Angeles, California since the beginning of 2001. In 2009, Ally opened an extremely popular and successful yoga studio, Yogis Anonymous, in Santa Monica.

Ally also instructs a world-wide audience at ww.yogisanonymous.com. VegWorld readers can also try Ally’s Online Yoga Training for 15 days free using the coupon code “VegWorld.”

Sign up for your free trial here.

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Juice Guru | Steve Prussack

with STEVE PRUSSACK

This month, Juice Guru invites you to participate in “Juice Time Tuesdays.”

This program will teach you everything you need to know to start and stay on a weekly juicing lifestyle program with a supportive, global network of friends.

Find out more about Juice Time Tuesdays at www.JuiceTimeTuesdays.com.

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FAMILY

AND LIFESTYLE

Easy Ways to Stay Fit on Your Business Trip No Time to Exercise?

Discover The Power of the 5 Minute Fitness Break Would You Like Some Fish Bladders With That Chardonnay?

Easy Ways to Stay Fit on Your Business Trip | Carolyn Scott-Hamilton

Easy Ways to

Stay Fit on Your Business Trip

by Carolyn Scott-Hamilton “The Healthy Voyager”

E

ver since making that New Year’s resolution, you’ve worked hard to get into an exercise groove. But just when you’re finally seeing results and feeling better than ever, your boss tells you that you’ll be travelling out of town. Or maybe you already travel regularly for business, and you can’t seem to get started on a solid routine.

Should you throw in the towel and resign yourself to a sedentary life? No way! Just because your work requires you to travel doesn’t mean you can’t stay firmly on the fitness path.

VegWorld Magazine

Without a doubt, it can be tough to stick to a workout regimen if your job takes you away from your neighborhood gym or trusty bicycle. But there are plenty of ways to keep up (and even start) your fitness routine while on the road. Staying in shape during your travels will keep you healthy when your resistance might otherwise be lowered as a result of time change, recirculated airplane air and work stress. It can also help to break up the monotony of your business dealings.

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Easy Ways to Stay Fit on Your Business Trip | Carolyn Scott-Hamilton

The Nine Essentials for Fitness on the Road For those of you lucky enough to get to stay in nice hotels, hotel gyms are fab places to get in a quick sweat session. In fact, check out this website for reviews on hotel gyms!

For the rest of you, don’t worry, fitness on the go doesn’t have to be expensive or require a lot of heavy equipment. Whether you are going 5-star or not, here are the essentials you will want to pack to be sure you can get your groove on, in or out of your room: • Athletic shoes – Yep, you can’t do much in your dress shoes.

• Exercise clothing – A comfy shirt and shorts (or sweats if you’re in a cold climate) will do the trick. You won’t need anything fancy or items that will take up additional space in your suitcase.

• Swimsuit – Depending on the location or weather at your travel destination, swimming laps is a great workout for your body and your mind.

• Jump rope – This “cardio equipment” takes up virtually no space, and a few minutes of jumping in your room can really get up your heart rate.

• Music and headphones – Whether you opt for the hotel gym, a solo sightseeing walking tour, or jumping rope in your room, you can’t leave home without your tunes!

• An exercise video or DVD – Most business travelers bring their laptop with them. Use it to take advantage of floor routine dvds, yoga and other quick videos that can be used anywhere, including in your hotel room, to get you pumped before the big meeting.

• Weightlifting gloves – These are also easy to pack and very helpful if you choose to hit the gym.

For a different type of travel workout, you might ask the hotel staff about renting a bicycle. This is great exercise and a cheap and easy way to take in the flavor of the local area. In addition, getting out and walking around the town counts and can be quite refreshing in the middle of tense times. Get in a little history, sightseeing and exercise in just a few short hours, or take shorter walks throughout the day. You’d be surprised just how beneficial those little breaks can be.

Tips for Moving Your Body Even in Transit

• Resistance tubing – This is another fabulous exercise tool that takes up no space in your suitcase and can do so much. You can work out every muscle in your body with some simple sets that incorporate your travel bands.

• Tennis racket – These may take up some space but, who knows, if you are in a warm place and want to soak in the sun during your workout, a racket is the perfect choice!

VegWorld Magazine

Exercise equipment, like jump ropes, are low-cost gems that fit into any suitcase or carry-on for easy fitness on the go.

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Easy Ways to Stay Fit on Your Business Trip | Carolyn Scott-Hamilton

Exercise doesn’t only happen in a gym. Try brisk walking at the airport or on stops during train or car travel to keep your blood oxygenated and heart pumping.

Don’t wait until you arrive at your destination.

Kill time at the airport (since we need to get there so dang early anyway) and wear your walking shoes when you travel. Store your carry-on bags in a locker and walk briskly through the terminal while you’re waiting for your flight. Pump your arms to increase your heart rate. During your flight, get up occasionally to stretch and walk. Light exercise before a flight will actually help you fly better by oxygenating your blood, relaxing you and helping you later on with jet lag symptoms.

If you’re traveling by train, walk through the

cars occasionally. Walk outdoors when the train stops to let passengers on and off. If you’re driving, take frequent breaks to get out and stretch. Even a short walk around a rest area can boost your mood and energy level.

Some business trips may require more of your time then others but keeping to some sort of fitness plan will help you get through the toughest of days. No matter where you are going, or for how long, it’s easy to fit in fitness. Not to mention, it will keep you sharp and that’s always a good thing when it comes to business!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Scott-Hamilton, aka The Healthy Voyager, is the Executive Producer, Creator, Host and Writer of The Healthy Voyager web series, site and overall brand. A holistic nutritionist, plant-based vegan chef, best-selling cookbook author, sought-after speaker, film-making, screen-writing, traveling, singing, dancing, fun-loving, healthy and green-living wife, The Healthy Voyager aims to help people live well, one veggie at a time!

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Discover The Power of the 5 Minute Fitness Break | Lani Muelrath, MA

No Time to

Exercise?

Discover The Power of the 5 Minute Fitness Break

by Lani Muelrath, MA, the Plant-Based Fitness Expert

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Discover The Power of the 5 Minute Fitness Break | Lani Muelrath, MA

W

e all know that the first line of offense with your health is your dietary plan – that’s where a whole-foods, plant-based diet beats all others hands down. It’s the primary player in weight management and disease protection. But even if you eat a completely organic, raw vegan diet, rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, you still need regular exercise to maintain your good health, vitality and longevity. Every one of us needs a solid challenge to our muscles to keep muscle shape and some semblance of strength. And the most healthy lifestyle is one in which we stay active and get plenty of cardio exercise.

Research shows we are much better off if we move around throughout the day, rather than resign ourselves to a sedentary existence.

Indeed, health is more than numbers on the chart. It is also vitality. It’s feeling good in your body. It means having the strength and physical resiliency that invites you to be active in your life, fulfill your passion and advance your mission. It means being able to enjoy all the things you love to do. That’s where moving your body matters - big time.

But let’s face it, many of us work 9 to 5 behind a desk all day, and are unable to spend hours hiking, running track or going to the gym. So why not try a 5 minute fitness break? “5 minute fitness.” Doesn’t just the sound of that spark a flame of hope in your heart?

While an active lifestyle is best for our bodies’ physical and mental needs, research tells us that we can get some of the same benefits of exercise from multiple short bouts of activity throughout the day as from one longer session. This is great news, and extremely liberating if you find it darn hard to “fit” fitness in while at the office.

It Starts with Simply Sitting Less The first line of defense when it comes to VegWorld Magazine

Challenging your muscles throughout the day allows fat from your blood to be burned as energy, rather than stored as fat.

exercise and your health is simply not sitting so much. It means punctuating periods of sedentary time with movement. In less than one second – the time it takes to go from sitting to standing – you positively impact biomarkers that, along with a whole foods, plant-based diet, can strongly stride you away from disease.

And that is how you initiate a 5 minute fitness break – it’s that easy.

Short Exercise Breaks Throughout Your Day Will Give You More Than You Think From there, it’s a short leap to sneaking in a muscle challenge. This layers in multiple benefits for you. Working your muscles encourages lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in your skeletal muscle; sitting suppresses it.

LPL is an enzyme with the job of extracting particles of fat in your blood and transporting them to one of two places: To your fat cells for storage or to your muscle cells to be used for energy. Where do you want yours to go? By sitting less and challenging muscle – even in short, 5 minute bouts – you are Issue 008 - March 2013 |

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Discover The Power of the 5 Minute Fitness Break | Lani Muelrath, MA

It may sound too good to be true, but research shows you can benefit greatly from multiple exercise breaks as short as 5 minutes each.

and support your posture. It counters the effects of gravity’s pull that have contributed to “belly pooch” by isolating and targeting these muscles with laser-like focus. Practice this simple, targeted abdominal shaper every day - it takes less than 3 minutes - and watch your body and energy change.

inviting your body to be a better fat burner.

It’s as simple as that.

Not only that, but the quickest way to amp up your energy and infuse your day with optimism is to move some muscle. Who amongst us doesn’t feel a whole lot better when we’ve had some exercise?

7 Seconds to a Flat Belly Just to show you how easy it is to slip activity in your day, in this VegWorld Magazine video, I show you one of my all time favorite fitness break exercises: “7 Seconds to a Flat Belly.”

This exercise targets the muscles deep in the abdominal wall that form your natural girdle

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award winning Lani Muelrath, M.A., CGFI, CPBN, FNS - The Plant-Based Fitness Expert (www.lanimuelrath.com) is author of the Best Selling book Fit Quickies: 5 Minute Targeted Body Shaping Workouts.

Lani is presenter and celebrity coach for the 21-Day PCRM Vegan Kickstart and VegRun Programs and is the Fitness Adviser for the Dr. John McDougall Health and Medical Center Discussion Boards. She has a Master’s degree and several teaching credentials in Physical Education, and holds multiple fitness certifications including Fitness Instructor from the American Council on Exercise, Yoga, and Pilates-based instruction from the PhysicalMind Institute. She is also certified in Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University.

Lani created and starred in her own CBS TV show, “Lani’s All-Heart Aerobics.” She overcame her own lifetime struggle with weight over more than 15 years ago when she lost 50 pounds, which she has maintained easily with the tools that she uses to coach others to be successful with in weight loss, body shaping, and health. Learn more about Lani at www.lanimuelrath.com.

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/b9w5747 The Book: http://www.lanimuelrath.com/the-book

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Do animals have souls? What happens when they die?

And where do they stand in the larger scheme of things?

This book offers amazing comfort & insight!

Animals and the Afterlife True Stories of Our Best Friends’ Journey Beyond Death

By Kim Sheridan Animals and the Afterlife is a beautiful comfort for those grieving the loss of a beloved animal. It also carries a powerful message of compassion and a convincing validation of the rights of animals. The author’s strong vegan conviction has converted many a reader to a more compassionate lifestyle over the years.

Author Kim Sheridan faced the death of many a beloved animal, and along with the pain came the same questions. Then mysterious things began to happen which led her on an incredible journey to uncover the truth. This book details her journey and her amazing research.

This powerful 400+ page book (and forthcoming film) might just change your perception of death or lead you on an incredible journey of your own!

Animals and the Afterlife makes a heartfelt gift, a captivating read, and a necessary addition to everyone’s lending library.

www.AnimalsAndTheAfterlife.com 1 0 0 % o f p r o c e e d s a r e u s e d t o f u n d Co mp a s s i o n Ci r c l e , a n o n- p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n

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Mix with water, fresh fruit, veggies, juices, oatmeal, or your best friend’s regular food.

For more information, or to order, visit:

VegWorld Magazine 100% of

www.CompassionCircle.com

Issue 008 - March 2013 |

proceeds are used to fund Compassion Circle, a non-profit organization

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Would You Like Some Fish Bladders With That Chardonnay? | Cheryl Murphy Durzy

Would You Like Some Fish Bladders

With That Chardonnay?

by Cheryl Murphy Durzy

“Of course wine is vegan! Wine is just fermented grapes, right?”

“They use fish bladders to fine wines? Wow, I had no idea.”

You’re not alone: Most people are pretty clueless when it comes to the processes used in making alcohol, and the ingredients added to wine are not required by law to be listed on the label. For far too long, it has been a little-known fact that four animal products are commonly used in winemaking practices.

VegWorld Magazine

These are: • Gelatin: extract from boiled cow’s or pig’s hooves and sinews • Albumin: egg whites • Caseins: a protein from milk • Isinglass: a very pure form of gelatin from sturgeon fish bladders (Technically, if isinglass is used in the winemaking process, it does not end up in the bottle. However, just the use of animal products in the making of any product deems it unsuitable for vegans.)

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Would You Like Some Fish Bladders With That Chardonnay? | Cheryl Murphy Durzy

These animal products are considered “fining agents,” added to the wine to make it crystal clear. Using a filter removes the larger particulates, like dead yeast cells and small grape fragments, but a fining agent is often necessary to reduce excess tannins, achieve desired color, or remove proteins. These proteins can cause haziness, especially in white wines.

Many reds and whites are bottled unfined – which does not affect the taste at all, assuming the wine is sound and balanced to begin with.

But the haziness in white wines can be a turn-off to some people that do not like to see “floaties” in their glass. However, these little alien floaters often add to the complexity of the wine. Many famous, very expensive wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

If and when fining is a necessity, there are other options for the process besides animal products. Wines made by Vegan Vine, for example, are fined with a clay product. Fining agents will stick to the microscopic particles, creating larger molecules, which are easier to filter out. This has been found equally effective in removing haziness and undesirable characteristics – and, it’s 100 percent vegan.

So, the next time you share a bottle of wine with friends and loved ones, make sure it says “vegan” on the label. Otherwise, you may get a lot more than you bargained for.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cheryl Murphy Durzy is the Vice President and Proprietor of the Vegan Vine. Vegan Vine Wines is the brainchild of the Murphy family, owners of Clos LaChance Winery in San Martin, CA. Over a few glasses of wine, a vegan relative of the Murphy’s mentioned that he was thankful that wine was vegan. This led to a discussion that not all wines are in fact vegan – and how infuriating it must be for those that live a vegan and vegetarian lifestyle to not have access to information when shopping for wine. Almost immediately, the family thought having the word “Vegan” within the brand name would make it very, very clear that this wine was in fact Vegan. Thus, a new wine was born.

The winery took on a partner with John Salley – former NBA champion, television host and health and wellness advocate. John lives the vegan lifestyle, and through his contacts and visibility, the brand is now being distributed in many markets across the United States. It is also sold online at www.theveganvine.com

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E R TU A FE

Potatoes are for Eating | Dr. Brian Clement

Potatoes are for Eating:

Get Off Your Couch and Give Your Body What it Needs

by Dr. Brian Clement

I

n today’s “evolved” society, people too often consider exercise as one of their lowest priorities. Think about it. If you’re being honest with yourself, you may very well have to admit that daily exercise is towards the bottom of your list – past work and family obligations, and yes, even television viewing, facebooking and playing words with friends.

Less than 5% of the population exercise adequately. This not only effects our waistlines, but also our emotions, biochemistry, immune systems and rate of aging.

VegWorld Magazine

But the human race was not born on a coach. To keep our bodies and minds operating the way nature intended, we need daily movement – and lots of it. Our nomadic ancestors genetically and anatomically set the blueprint for future generations with their need for endless foraging and associated body movement. Later, the simple act of farming for survival offered the full spectrum of aerobic and weight-lifting exercise that is prerequisite to health. Each morning when people rose, the first question in their mind was, “Am I going to starve or am I going to farm?” Of course, the latter was what the masses chose and this life-saving act alone assured a user-friendly body. Not until we humans began to become sedentary did we begin to limit total body use.

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Potatoes are for Eating | Dr. Brian Clement

With Societal “Advances” Came the “Couch Potato” As the industrial revolution sprouted, most people began to migrate to cities and cubical residences that dramatically limited the use of our anatomy. Abnormal standing, sitting, leaning and resting increased due to our obligatory work. By the mid-20th century, the commonly shared outdoor activities began to be challenged by the newly created television. Before we knew it, we were watching professional sport teams rather than actively participating in sports. Within one generation, the term “couch potato” was created. As we view the box with its illustrious and tempting ads, they seduce us to eat more nutritionally void foods to fill the gaping holes left behind from the lack of personal fulfillment.

What a dilemma it has become — lack of body use and excessive weight gain have paralyzed the population, including the youth among us. A recent international study reported what has been well-established in the past: “Less than 5% of the population exercise adequately.”

Exercise Does Much More Than Keep You Trim Everyone knows that losing weight and staying fit requires exercise. But did you know that our bodies need regular movement in order to work optimally in many other important ways? A Lack of exercise directly affects your emotions, biochemistry, immune systems and rate of aging. During the last half-century, one scientific study after another confirms the essentiality of aerobic VegWorld Magazine

Exercise your mind. Regular exercise is the top factor in keeping your mind sharp into old age.

and weight-bearing exercise.

Through my work at Hippocrates Health Institute, we have concretely established that aerobic exercise will dramatically increase the pace of recovery. Every disease known to man can be successfully battled by increasing circulation, body temperature and oxygen. Resistance exercise not only forms a healthy, functional muscular structure, but also solidifies and strengthens the skeletal system. In both cases, the positive effects are numerous.

Perhaps the least recognized, yet most

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Potatoes are for Eating | Dr. Brian Clement

You cannot become healthy without regular streching, movement and muscle building. Our chemistry and anatomy depend on thoese vital processes.

profound, benefit of regular exercise is in mental functionality. We and other researchers have noted increased positivity and less procrastination in participants of both weight-lifting and aerobic programs.

And recent studies indicate that regular exercise is the number one factor in keeping the mind sharp into old age. Needless to say, self-esteem inherently increases due to the comfort and ease of a better-looking and more functional anatomy.

Sexual vitality and improved libido is also gained when one is faithful to movement and development. This fact alone should motivate you to move exercise up on your list of priorities.

VegWorld Magazine

A Healthy Diet is a Good Start, But Not Enough When I first turned to a healthy lifestyle and a vegan diet, I was surprised to find that I still didn’t feel that my body was working optimally. I later learned that the one gaping hole I was missing was exercise. While it was challenging to give up my consumption of animal based and processed foods, little did I know that the adoption of practices to stimulate and build my body presented an even higher mountain to climb. But once exercise was foundationally part of my awareness, it became like second nature – just another thing I do in my day. More than that, it became one of the things I look forward to the most to make me feel great.

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Potatoes are for Eating | Dr. Brian Clement I now employ these body-strengthening processes with my patients. Time and again, they have reported that the central reason for their recovery and the maintenance of superior health has been the exercise component. You cannot become healthy or maintain pinnacle well-being without employing stretching, exhilarating movement, and muscle-building techniques. Our chemistry and anatomy depend upon these vital processes.

the first days and weeks, soon to come will be the expectation, joy, and fulfillment of an enhanced attitude and improved body. We will all reach our goals in a personalized way, with considerations for age, health condition and willingness. “Slow but sure” is better than “no pain, no gain.”

Here’s to your good health. And just remember my four Golden Rules of WellBeing:

Ease Into Exercise One Step at a Time

• Become limitless in your pursuit of excellent health.

Don’t become discouraged by trying to achieve Olympic status in a week.

Professional trainers are powerful partners in the pursuit of fruitful training schedules.

I personally wasted many years before a compassionate trainer approached me and offered to help. As gruesome as it may be in

• Acknowledge and maintain the successes that were reaped from your unwavering effort.

• Always do the right thing, not the easy one.

• Enjoy life with all of its nuances and beauty forever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Brian Clement has spent more than three decades studying nutrition and natural healthcare. He has received graduate degrees in both naturopathic medicine and nutritional science.

His recent best-selling book, “Living Foods for Optimum Health,” has been acclaimed by Marilyn Diamond, co-author of the book “Fit for Life,” as “an important and eminently readable book for the new era of self care,” Find out more about Hippocrates Health Institute by clicking on this link.

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NUTRITION

AND THRIVING It’s Not the Chicken in Your Soup that Stops a Cold or Flu Skip the White Rice and Lower Your Risk of Diabetes Vegetarians Live Longer

It’s Not the Chicken in Your Soup that Stops a Cold or Flu | Dr. Janice Stanger

It’s Not the Chicken in Your Soup

that Stops

a Cold or Flu

by Dr. Janice Stanger

I

s there really a way, through diet, to treat and stop a cold or the flu? Modern medicine has no effective cure for the patient’s misery. Some drugs can temporarily help with symptoms, but may have unwanted side effects that make things worse in the long-run.

So what is a desperate sufferer or their family member to do? Folk cures abound. Chicken soup is reputed to be useful in alleviating cold symptoms. In fact, a scientific study published in 2000 in the peer-reviewed medical journal Chest is often cited to support the idea that chicken soup has real clinical effects, especially in reducing the inflammation that produces unpleasant symptoms.

With the advent of cold and flu season, I decided to revisit the Chest study to see if the supposed beneficial effect of chicken

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soup would be duplicated or improved by plant-based soups.

The Truth Behind the Chicken Soup Myth The study authors started out making their soup with only chicken, then after some cooking time added lots of excellent vegetables – onion, sweet potato, parsnips, turnips, carrots, celery, parsley. They tested the soup for a beneficial effect on dampening over-active immune system cells (which are responsible for inflammation) periodically as they cooked it.

Here’s the whole story of the startling findings. Before vegetables were added, the chicken broth had no anti-inflammatory activity. Right after vegetables were placed in the pot, the broth acquired potent antiIssue 008 - March 2013 |

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It’s Not the Chicken in Your Soup that Stops a Cold or Flu | Dr. Janice Stanger inflammatory impact on human immune system cells. After the vegetables cooked for a while (exact times are not given in the article, but total cooking time was 2 hours and 15 minutes), they lost some of their antiinflammatory power.

Why Plant-Based Soups Are Superior in Treating Colds and Flus So, in this widely touted article, the findings actually indicate that lightly cooked vegetable soup is the potent weapon to relieve cold symptoms. The study authors suggest other effects that soup may have in shortening colds and making the patient feel better. All these are accomplished as effectively, if not more powerfully, by vegetable soup than by soup with animal broth.

phytochemicals in plants will win against any animal food in getting rid of the free radicals that can damage your cells, both when you have a cold or any other time.

The Recipe to Wipe out Your Cold and Flu So what kind of soup is best for colds, flu, and other respiratory problems? The Chest article, not to mention thousands of other studies of the beneficial might of whole plant foods, suggests you give lightly cooked vegetable soup a thumbs up. Cook the vegetables until they are just tender. Usually this is about eight to ten minutes.

Dried beans, brown rice, barley, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and several other potential soup ingredients have to cook

• The mechanical effect of the heat in loosing mucus: In other words, if you have a cold, eat your soup while it is hot and inhale the steam as you eat.

• The hydrating effect in replacing fluids lost to illness: For this to work, eat soup with lots of broth. Best to avoid salt, which will increase your need for fluids.

Flavor your soup with nutrient-packed herbs and spices instead. For example, go for garlic, ginger, black pepper, or curry, or any other flavoring you like, to replace the routine salt.

• The medically active nutrients in the vegetables: Of course, this observation by the study authors indicates vegetablebased soup would be vastly superior to animal-based soup in speeding recovery from respiratory infections.

• The antioxidant activity of the soup.

Again, the potent vitamins and VegWorld Magazine

The study most often cited for the healing benefits of chicken soup actually proves vegetable soup is the superior remedy.

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It’s Not the Chicken in Your Soup that Stops a Cold or Flu | Dr. Janice Stanger more than ten minutes, and some people like onion with longer cooking times. So when those ingredients are about ten minutes from being done, add your quick cooking vegetables, such as carrots, celery, broccoli, string beans, mushrooms, green onions, cabbage, or whatever others you are using.

Spinach really doesn’t even need to cook.

Just let it wilt in the hot broth when the soup is done.

Your soup base can be homemade or commercial vegetable, tomato, or mushroom broth. You can also cook in plain water, and add some miso for flavor after turning the soup off (you don’t want to boil miso). Be liberal in your use of herbs and spices.

To make your soup even more effective in fighting – and even preventing – colds and flu, be sure to add some mushrooms to the pot. Regardless of whether you use inexpensive white button mushrooms or more exotic and expensive kinds, this food revs up your immune system to fight the virus causing your illness. Numerous studies show that mushrooms are potent for helping you battle infection, plus even fight cancer, so when you add mushrooms to your soup you are reducing your risk of malignancy, not just feeling better from your cold or flu.

Adding mushrooms to your veggie soup will magically boost your immune system into overdrive, as well as help you fight cancer.

Eat your vegetable soup with a mushroom boost, and see if you feel better faster when you are sick. Eat this way every day, and you might get so healthy that colds don’t even get you down nearly as often as they used to. Don’t you love it when science supports common sense?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Janice Stanger has a Ph.D. in Human Development and Aging from University of California, San Francisco. As an adult, she went through multiple unsuccessful weight loss attempts, binge eating, and numerous chronic illnesses and debilitating pain. Since following the Perfect Formula Diet the author is now in Perfect Health, at her Perfect Weight, and takes no prescription drugs (with ideal cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose level) at age 58.

Find out more about Dr. Janice Stanger by visiting her website here.

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Skip the White Rice and Lower Your Risk of Diabetes | Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Skip the White Rice and

Lower Your Risk of Diabetes

by Dr. Joel Fuhrman

O

ver 25 million people in the United States (about 8% of the population) have type 2 diabetes. Worldwide prevalence of diabetes in adults is about 6%. Asian countries, however, have somewhat higher rates: 9% in China and Korea, and 11% in Japan. This is interesting to consider. In spite of a considerably greater incidence of obesity in the U.S., and our dangerous diet full of animal fats, there is significantly more diabetes in China, Korea

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and Japan. How can this be? The major reason for this disparity may surprise you: White rice.

Refined carbohydrates, like white rice, are worse than just empty calories; they are disease-causing foods – due to their particularly high glycemic loads (GL). A food’s glycemic load estimates how much that food will raise a person’s blood glucose level after eating it.

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Skip the White Rice and Lower Your Risk of Diabetes | Dr. Joel Fuhrman Of course, we all know that eating high glycemic foods, like white flour and rice, contributes to weight gain. But you may not know that these same foods lead to a state known as “insulin resistance,” in which the body’s cells cannot respond properly to insulin. Insulin is a hormone that allows for the transport of glucose into the body’s cells and storage of the energy contained in that glucose. Insulin resistance is the first stage of type 2 diabetes. The continued consumption of high GL food stresses your pancreas to secrete large amounts of insulin, eventually contributing to its “poop-out,” or failure to keep up with the increased insulin demands.

There is a World of Difference Between White and Unrefined Starches Why does white rice cause this failure, whereas brown rice does not? Refined carbohydrates, devoid of fiber to slow down

Research shows that each daily serving of refined white rice increases the risk of diabetes by 11%.

absorption of sugars, raise blood glucose more and faster than their unprocessed counterparts. The effect of a particular food on blood glucose is indicated by its glycemic index (GI), represented by a 1-100 measure of the blood glucose response per gram of carbohydrate. Glycemic load (GL), a related indicator, takes into account both the GI and the carbohydrate content of a typical portion size.

An analysis of four studies on white rice consumption and diabetes compiled data from two studies in Asian populations and two in Western populations. In Asian countries, where white rice is a staple food, the average intake of white rice was 3-4 servings per day, and in Western countries the average was 1-2 servings per week. A comparison of the highest vs. lowest white rice intake groups yielded a 55% increase in diabetes risk in Asians, and a 12% increase in Westerners. Overall, the researchers found that each daily serving of white rice increased the risk of diabetes by 11%.

Eating high glycemic foods, like white flour, pasta and potatoes, contributes to “insulin resistence” and the eventual failure of the pancreas.

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Skip the White Rice and Lower Your Risk of Diabetes | Dr. Joel Fuhrman Glycemic Load )High = 20 and above; Low = 1-10(

Food White potato (1 medium baked)

29

White rice (1 cup cooked)

26

White bread (1 bagel, 3.5 in. diameter)

24

White pasta (1 cup cooked)

21

Chocolate cake (1/10 box cake mix + 2T frosting)

20

Black rice (1 cup cooked)

14

Butternut squash (1 cup cooked)

8

Green peas (1 cup cooked)

8

Lentils (1 cup cooked)

8

Black beans (1 cup cooked)

6

The most healthful carbohydrate sources are those that minimize glycemic effects like beans, peas, in tact whole grains and starchy vegetables. Stick to these and lower your risk of diabetes and cancer.

Asians Are Not the Only Ones at Risk from Unrefined White Starches Westerners on average eat less than one daily serving of white rice – but what about the other high-GL foods that Americans eat daily? White pasta, white potato, and white bread are also high in GL and therefore likely to be just as dangerous. It’s no wonder that U.S. diabetes rates have tripled in the past

A recent study of Korean women found that each daily serving of white rice increased breast cancer risk by 19%. A U.S. study found similar links between starch consumption and breast cancer.

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30 years, and are expected to double or even triple again by 2050.

Indeed, more and more research is demonstrating that white potato consumption is associated with diabetes.

And, perhaps most shockingly, this association was found to be most likely due to glycemic load of these foods, as opposed to their preparation or added fats.

Substituting just one serving of whole grains per day with white potatoes was estimated to increase diabetes risk by 30%. Also, in a 6-year study of 65,000 women, those with diets high in refined carbohydrates from white bread, white rice, and pasta were 2.5 times as likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate lowerGL foods such as intact whole grains and whole wheat bread.

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Skip the White Rice and Lower Your Risk of Diabetes | Dr. Joel Fuhrman

White Rice Causes Not Just Diabetes, But Cancer Too There’s more. Low-nutrient, high glycemic foods not only are unfavorable from the perspective of weight gain and diabetes.

They could also contribute significantly to cancer and heart disease by causing excessive insulin secretion.

High insulin levels in the blood can promote the growth of cancer cells, in part by interacting with the receptor for insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). A recent study of Korean women found that each daily serving of white rice increased breast cancer risk by 19%. Similarly, a recent U.S. study found a link between starch consumption and breast cancer recurrence. Diabetics are 30% more likely to develop colorectal cancer, 20% more likely to develop breast cancer, and 82% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than non-diabetics. This increased risk of cancer observed in diabetics is thought to be due in part to cancer-promoting effects of insulin therapy.

The Moral is: Skip the White Rice, Bread, and Potatoes

Let’s be clear: white rice, white flour products, and white potatoes are foods that should not be central in our diets.

white rice was looked upon as a healthful, low fat staple in a vegetarian diet. We have progressed in knowledge and science and it is clear that white rice can no longer be considered healthful, or even neutral – it is disease-causing.

The negative effects are heightened the more overweight one becomes. A small amount is tolerable in a thin or normal weight individual, but as body fat increases and insulin resistance increases, the harmful effects of high glycemic foods increase proportionally. We now know that the most healthful carbohydrate sources are those that minimize glycemic effects – beans, peas, intact whole grains, and starchy vegetables, such as squash and cauliflower. Stick to these and skip that white rice.

Let’s be clear: white rice, white flour products, and white potatoes are foods that should not be central in our diets. In the past,

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Fuhrman is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of “Eat to Live” and “Super Immunity” and a board certified family physician specializing in lifestyle and nutritional medicine. His newest book “The End of Diabetes” explains how to prevent and reverse type 2 diabetes and avoid its serious complications.

Visit his informative website at DrFuhrman.com and blog at DiseaseProof.com, and follow Dr. Fuhrman at Facebook.com/DrFuhrman and on Twitter @DrFuhrman.

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Vegetarians Live Longer | Pamela A. Popper, Ph.D., N.D.

Vegetarians

Live Longer

by Pamela A. Popper, Ph.D., N.D.

T

here are many benefits from eating a plant-based diet, and one more can be added to the list. According to findings from the Adventist Health Study, which were recently presented at the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Annual Meeting in October 2012, vegetarians live longer than carnivores. Vegetarian Adventist men live an average of 83.3 years, while Adventist women live an average of 85.7 years. This is an average of 9.5 years longer for men and 6.1 years longer for women.

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Vegetarians Live Longer | Pamela A. Popper, Ph.D., N.D. This study followed 96,000 Americans and Canadians. The lead researcher, Gary Fraser, reported several benefits attributed to eating a plantbased diet, including: • Vegans are an average of 30 pounds lighter than meat eaters.

Not only will you live longer on a plantbased diet, but you’ll live leaner and better than your carnivorous counterparts.

• Vegans also score better on BMI (Body Mass Index) tests – about 5 units lower than meat eaters.

• Vegetarians and vegans are less likely to be insulin resistant than meat eaters.

Those participants who were lean were more likely to exercise, eat more plant food, and avoid cigarettes than people who were overweight, leading the researchers to conclude that numerous factors are responsible for their better health. This is what I refer to as the ”combination lock” theory of diet and lifestyle: Just as you have to dial all four numbers to open a combination lock – and three or two will not give you any results – you have to address your total diet and lifestyle pattern if you want to enjoy optimal health.

Not only will you live longer on a plant-based diet, but you’ll live leaner and better than your carnivorous counterparts. I am already observing this. At my age, many of my friends are sick, medicated, undergoing procedures, and dying because they don’t take care of themselves. I am thankful every day I learned about this diet before these things happened to me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Pam Popper is a naturopath, an internationally recognized expert on nutrition, medicine and health, and the Executive Director and Founder of The Wellness Forum, which, among other things, offers programming in schools designed to improve children’s health through better nutrition.

Dr. Popper is the author of several books; her most recent is “Solving America’s Healthcare Crisis.” She serves on the Physician’s Steering Committee and the President’s Board for the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington D.C. Dr. Popper is one of the health care professionals involved in the famed Sacramento Food Bank Project, in which economically disadvantaged people were shown how to reverse their diseases and eliminate medications with diet.

She has been featured in many widely distributed documentaries, including “Processed People” and “Making a Killing” and the popular film “Forks Over Knives.” She is one of the co-authors of the companion book which is on the New York Times bestseller list.

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ORDINARY PEOPLE

EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS

Packing on Lean Muscle with Plant-Based Nutrition

Packing on Lean Muscle with Plant-Based Nutrition | Brendan Brazier

Packing on Lean Muscle with Plant-Based Nutrition

by Brendan Brazier

H

aving been a competitive endurance athlete since the age of 15, I found that – once I overcame the initial pitfalls – a plant-based whole food diet offered several advantages. Among them, I didn’t get sick as often, I was able to train harder, and I stayed light - yet became stronger. Clearly these are significant advantages when pursuing peak athletic performance. However, remaining light while having the ability to build muscular strength – and therefore functionality – was certainly one of the greatest attributes this novel way of eating bestowed upon me.

As endurance athletes, we don’t aspire to build muscular size (bulk), but rather to simply develop what muscle we do have to be strong, and thereby function efficiently. Building strength while not packing on bulk will raise strength-to-weight ratio.

That’s good. And as a direct result, endurance will take a leap forward.

But what about strength athletes such as bodybuilders – and even those who simply aspire to build and maintain healthy muscle mass – can they benefit from a similar plant-based diet? Yes, in fact they can. While

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Packing on Lean Muscle with Plant-Based Nutrition | Brendan Brazier

“Remaining light while having the ability to build muscular strength - and therefore functionality� - is the greatest benefit of a plant-based diet.

endurance athletes aim to develop efficient muscles, without increasing their size, bodybuilders are quite the opposite. Since bodybuilders are judged by appearance alone, they train accordingly. Bulk, symmetry, and definition are the three visual points on which a bodybuilder will be assessed.

What builds efficient muscles in endurance athletes is the same thing that builds visually impressive muscles in bodybuilders: hard work - not excessive protein consumption.

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Does More Protein Mean More Muscle?

Immediately following an intense workout, those serious about packing on lean muscles will down a high-protein shake. They know that repairing muscle tissue after breaking it down in the gym requires the rebuilding properties for which protein is touted. But what most don’t consider is the protein source. In the minds of many, quantity is the priority; the more protein, the better. But does more really equate to better results?

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Packing on Lean Muscle with Plant-Based Nutrition | Brendan Brazier and thus inflamed. And as we know, acidforming food creates inflammation. Therefore the consumption of a traditional postworkout smoothie that contains protein isolates will exacerbate the level and rate of inflammation.

Muscle bulding is not about the amount of protein you consume, but the quality of that protein. Plant-based protein is the highest quality for the job.

Let’s take a look.

The traditional way to add extra protein to the diet, while not increasing fat or carbohydrate content, is to mechanically or chemically remove the fat and carbohydrate component. What remains is called protein isolate. The protein has been isolated from the other macronutrients of the food and as such, its ratio has increased. Some manufactured isolates register protein content in excess of 90 percent. But once isolated, it is no longer a whole food and therefore harder for the body to digest, assimilate, and utilize. Plus protein isolates are inherently acid-forming. And with the onset of an acidic body, functionality declines.

traditional protein shakes decrease the functionality of your Muscle Immediately following a weight-training workout, the muscles will be broken down VegWorld Magazine

With inflammation comes size. But, with inflammation also comes a reduction in functionality. As the muscles become less functional, their ability to lift weight declines.

That’s a problem. Lifting heavy weight is what builds muscles strong – and big. Of course if the body delves into a less functional state, it simply won’t have the ability to work as intensely. And without the capacity to train hard, muscles cannot continue to grow. In addition to inflamed muscles not having the capacity to lift as much weight, more time will also need to be allocated between training sessions to allow inflammation to dissipate.

That’s bad. Since intensity and frequency are the two prime components to a successful muscle-building program, inflammation can well become the greatest single inhibitor of progress.

It is true that when a traditional acid-forming post-workout smoothie that contains protein isolate is swapped out for a plant-based whole food option, muscular size loss is likely. Understandably, this will lead to concern for those athletes whose goal it is to pack on muscle mass. But, what is actually transpiring is a good thing. What they are loosing in size is simply inflammation.

Eat Plants, Work Hard, Build Muscle In place of isolates and acid-forming animal foods, there are host of plant-based options that will ensure inflammation be kept to a

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Packing on Lean Muscle with Plant-Based Nutrition | Brendan Brazier

“Plant-based nutrition won’t necessarily make you a better athlete. It will allow you to train harder, thereby allowing you to make yourself a better athlete.”

minimum. Post workout, excellent plantbased protein sources include: hemp, pea, and rice protein. And while protein is a crucial component for muscle repair and building, so too are essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6), vitamins, minerals, enzymes, probiotics, antioxidants and a host of other nutritional components that can be found in a variety of plant-based whole foods. This being the case, a post-workout smoothie will deliver greater results if it contains these components, not merely protein. Additionally, chlorella – a form of freshwater algae – is an excellent addition to the post-workout smoothie. Due to its exceptionally high

chlorophyll content, it’s among the most alkaline-forming foods available. Plus, its protein percentage is almost 70 percent, naturally.

So while plant-based nutrition won’t necessarily make you a better athlete, it will allow you to train harder, thereby allowing you to make yourself a better athlete. And as all great athletes know, their success hinges on their ability to pursue it. With improved functionality and less rest required between workouts, success will be yours for the taking.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brendan Brazier is the creator and host of the new web series, Thrive Forward. He is a former professional Ironman triathlete, a two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion, the creator of an award-winning line of whole food nutritional products called VEGA, and the bestselling author of the Thrive book series. He is also the developer of the acclaimed ZoN Thrive Fitness program, and the creator of Thrive Foods Direct national meal delivery service.

Recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on plant-based performance nutrition, Brendan works with NFL, MLB, NHL, UFC, PGA, Tour De France, and Olympic athletes and is a guest lecturer at Cornell University where he presents an eCornell module entitled “The Plant-Based Diet and Elite Athleticism.”

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RECIPES

FOR FOODIES Raw Pear Tart With Cashew Cream and Fresh Berries Raw Ravioli with Sun Dried Tomato Sauce Winter Harvest Garlic Sesame Soba Noodles Panang Curry

Raw Pear Tart With Cashew Cream and Fresh Berries | Mark Reinfeld

Raw Pear Tart With

Cashew Cream and Fresh Berries Recipe Courtesy of The 30-Minute Vegan’s Taste of Europe Crust Ingredients: • 1 cup finely chopped pitted dates ( try Medjool) • 1 ¼ cups of chopped pecans • Pinch of ground cinnamon • Pinch of ground cardamom

Cashew Cream Ingredients: • 1 cup raw cashews • ½ to ¾ cup water • 2 tablespoons agave nectar, coconut nectar, or pure maple syrup, or to taste • Pinch of sea salt

Topping Ingredients: • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave or coconut nectar • Pinch of ground cinnamon • Pinch of ground nutmeg, or ground cardamom or allspice • 2 large ripe pears, sliced into ½ inch strips • 1 pint of fresh berries, rinsed and drained well

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Raw Pear Tart With Cashew Cream and Fresh Berries | Mark Reinfeld

Directions: 1. Place the cashews in a small bowl with 2 cups of water. Prepare the topping: Place the lemon juice, maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large shallow dish and mix well. Add the sliced pears and gently coat well.

2. Prepare the crust: Oil a 9 inch tart pan.

Place the pecans in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the dates, cinnamon, and cardamom and pulse-process until the ingredients are just ground up. Do not over-process or your crust will be to gummy.

of water and agave nectar. Blend until creamy. The amount of water you will need depends on the strength of your blender.

5. Spread an even layer of the cream over the crust. Creatively place the pear slices on top the cream. Try forming a spiral where each pear slice slightly overlaps the one next to it.

6. Decorate with fresh berries and mint leaves. If you have more time, chill for 15 minutes or more before serving.

3. Transfer to the tart pan and press down firmly to create the crust. The mixture should be holding together. If not, return to the processor and process a bit further. Depending upon the moisture of the dates, you may need to add a small amount of water or liquid from the topping to help hold the crust together.

4. Prepare the cashew cream: Drain and rinse the cashews well. Place them in a strong blender along with ½ to ž cup

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Raw Ravioli with Sun Dried Tomato Sauce | Mark Reinfeld

Raw Ravioli

with Sun Dried Tomato Sauce Recipe Courtesy of The 30-Minute Vegan’s Taste of Europe Ravioli and Garnish Ingredients: • 2 medium size zucchini • Chiffonaded fresh basil or finely chopped flat leaf parsley • Diced black or kalamata olives

Notta Ricotta Filling Ingredients: • ¾ cups of raw cashews or macadamia nuts • ¼ cup pine nuts • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice • 1 tablespoon olive oil • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast • 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley • ¼ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper • 2 teaspoons Italian Spice mix (optional)

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Raw Ravioli with Sun Dried Tomato Sauce | Mark Reinfeld

Sun Dried Tomato Sauce Ingredients: • 3 sun dried tomatoes soaked in ¼ cup hot water • 1 tomato, seeded and chopped into ½ inch chunks • 2 teaspoons olive oil • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes • ¼ teaspoon sea salt • A pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 1. Soak the cashews and pine nuts in about 2 cups of water for 10 minutes. Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in ¼ cup of hot water for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, slice the zucchini into eighteen 1/16 inch-thick rounds, using either a mandoline or sharp knife. Set aside.

5. Create the ravioli by placing a small amount of Notta Ricotta in the center of the zucchini slice. Top with an additional zucchini slice and seal by pinching the two slices together along the edges.

Repeat with the remaining zucchini. To serve, drizzle with sauce and garnish with basil and sliced olives.

3. Prepare the sauce by placing all its ingredients, including the sun dried tomatoes and soaking water, in a blender and blending until creamy.

4. Prepare the Notta Ricotta: Drain and rinse the soaked nuts well. Transfer to a food processor or strong blender with the remaining Notta Ricotta ingredients and process until smooth. If you are using a blender, you may need to add additional water.

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Winter Harvest | Cherie Soria

Winter Harvest

by Cherie Soria

W

ith two more months of winter to go, it’s easy to feel a little naturedeprived. So I say – why not bring the outdoors indoors?

A kitchen garden is a great way to connect with live, vital, growing things - and a great way to augment your raw kitchen! As I say in our new book, “Raw Food for Dummies,” “By nurturing your plants, they nurture you…” It’s true - especially when many of us see so little of the sun in the winter months!

The type of kitchen garden I’m advocating hardly takes up any time or space. Plus, you don’t need to weed or worry about pests.

The benefits from it will be huge, though, and

you’ll be so glad you did it!

One great way to grow your own food indoors is by growing greens. Sunflower greens and buckwheat lettuce are easy and just loaded with nutrients. These vibrant greens will brighten up your kitchen and your body at the same time.

A

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To begin, you’ll need some cafeteria trays and organic soil. Wheat grass is, of course, another great indoor crop with immeasurable health benefits. My mentor, Ann Wigmore, was an early proponent of the value of wheat grass and I can’t recommend the importance of including this green in your raw diet Issue 008 - March 2013 |

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Winter Harvest | Cherie Soria

Growing greens in your kitchen is a great way to stay healthy and feel connected with mother nature during the cold winter months.

enough. It’s also relatively easy to grow.

Wheat-grass juice is a high-chlorophyll drink that helps to cleanse the blood and fortify it through oxygenation. For the best wheat grass, buy organic, hard, red winter wheat berries from your health food store or online seed suppler. After you soak and sprout the wheat berries, they’re ready for planting.

1. Spread 6 cups of soil evenly on a cafeteria tray that’s 3⁄4-inch deep.

2. Distribute the sprouted wheat berries evenly over the soil, 1⁄2 inch from the edges, and moisten with 2 to 3 cups of water.

3. Invert another cafeteria tray and place it on top of the planted one; set aside for a couple of days.

4. When the grass has pushed up the top tray, remove it. Place the grass in the light

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and water it daily.

5. Harvest your grass as you need it, using scissors or a serrated knife. Cut close to the soil and discard or compost the remaining root bed.

Keeping ourselves fit and healthy in wintertime is challenging, but so important.

Not only is it dark and cold, it’s a great time to pick up viruses and other germs. Nothing helps keep us healthy like a good diet, and fresh, young greens are the perfect way to accomplish this. You’ll feel more connected to nature when you make it personal and bring it right into your kitchen. And how satisfying to prepare your favorite recipes with ingredients you grew yourself!

Here is a fantastic “stay healthy” recipe from “Raw Food for Dummies” that’s loaded with immune boosters, enzymes and nutrients – try it out!

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Wheat Grass Blast | Cherie Soria

Wheat Grass Blast Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

Directions:

• 1-inch piece of ginger root

1. Grate the ginger and, with your hands, squeeze the pulp to extract the juice (about 1 teaspoon) into a pitcher.

• 3⁄4 cup apple juice • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice • 3 ounces wheat-grass juice

2. Pour the apple juice, lemon juice, and wheat-grass juice into the pitcher and stir. Drink immediately.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Follow “Raw Food for Dummies” on Facebook for more information on upcoming tour dates, recipes and daily tips. http://www.facebook.com/RawFoodForDummies

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Garlic Sesame Soba Noodles | Chef Chloe

Chef Chloe’s

Veggie Delights

by Chloe Coscarelli

Garlic Sesame Soba Noodle Serves 4 to 6

High in protein, fiber, and essential amino acids, soba noodles make a perfect light noodle dish. Leftovers make for a great cold noodle salad the next day for lunch! Enjoy!

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Garlic Sesame Soba Noodles | Chef Chloe

Ingredients: • 10 ounces organic soba noodles • 4 tablespoons organic agave nectar • 6 tablespoons organic rice vinegar • 6 tablespoons gluten-free organic tamari • 2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce or 1 teaspoon red chili flakes • 2 tablespoons organic cold-pressed olive oil • 8 ounces oyster mushrooms • 6 cloves garlic, minced • 6 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced • 2 tablespoons organic toasted sesame oil

VegWorld Magazine recommends using organic ingredients for all of our recipes. Avoid GMOs at all costs.

(See VegWorld Magazine, October 2012, “How to get Genetically Modified Food Out of Your Diet”)

• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Directions: 1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add soba noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.

2. Meanwhile, whisk agave, vinegar, tamari, and chili-garlic sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté mushrooms until soft and lightly browned. Add garlic and scallions and let cook a few more minutes until fragrant.

Add the soy sauce mixture and let cook for 1 more minute until heated through.

4. In a large bowl, toss the soba noodles with the sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. I prefer to eat these noodles chilled, but you could eat them hot or cold.

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Panang Curry | Chef Chloe

Panang Curry Serves 4

This authentic aromatic curry will warm your tummy and soul! Each bite is complete with a smooth sweet coconut flavor and a kick of lime and spice at the end!

Ingredients: • 1 ½ tablespoons organic gmo-free canola oil • ½ cup finely chopped shallots • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger • 4 garlic cloves, minced • ¼ cup organic peanut butter (creamy or chunky) • 2 teaspoons turmeric • 1 teaspoon ground cumin • 1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste

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Panang Curry | Chef Chloe • 1 ½ cups water • 1 (14-ounce) can organic coconut milk • 1 ½ teaspoons lime zest • 2 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup • 2 teaspoons Himalayan sea salt • 1 (14-ounce) package organic extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes • 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½ -inch cubes • 1 bunch kale, cut or torn into bite-size pieces • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice • ½ cup roasted cashews

Grade B Maple Syrup is less refined and contains more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals when compared to the other varieties.

Directions: Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots, ginger, and garlic and let cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in peanut butter, turmeric, cumin, and curry paste and let cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Whisk in water, coconut milk, lime zest, brown sugar, and salt until combined. Add tofu, sweet potato, and kale, and bring to a boil. Let simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Stir in lime juice and adjust seasoning to taste. Garnish with cashews and serve a la carte or over rice or quinoa.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR A lifelong vegetarian and vegan for more than eight years, Chloe aims to bring delicious, meat-free dishes to the mainstream. Her decadent desserts and savory entrees prove that vegan cooking offers healthy choices without sacrificing flavor.

Chloe is a graduate of The Natural Gourmet Institute and the University of California, Berkeley. She has also completed Cornell University’s Plant-Based Nutrition program based on Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s The China Study.

Her professional work includes Millennium Restaurant, San Francisco; Counter Organic Vegetarian Bistro, New York City; and Herbivore Restaurant, Berkeley. Learn more about Chloe by visiting her website here.

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SPOTLIGHT

ON COMPASSION

Ethical Eating and Religion: What Would the Buddha Say?

Ethical Eating and Religion | Dr. Will Tuttle

Ethical Eating and Religion:

What Would the Buddha Say?

by Dr. Will Tuttle

O

ne of the biggest frustrations for vegans and animal protection activists is the widespread use of religion to justify human cruelty to animals. Religion — as the cultural institution devoted to the spiritual and ethical dimensions of our experience — should, we might think, be relied upon to guide us reliably toward compassion and nonviolence in our relations not just with humans but with animals as well. It’s obvious that animals are capable of suffering, after all.

Yet, as I have pointed out in “The World Peace Diet,” our cultural institutions tend ultimately to serve their father, which is the herding culture itself, and this culture’s core practice of confining and killing animals for food. So it’s interesting to see how Buddhism, for example, as it increasingly penetrates our culture and comes to be discussed and practiced by evergreater numbers of Western spiritual seekers, addresses our culture’s deeply ingrained traditions of violence toward, and exclusion of,

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animals.

Many well-respected Buddhist teachers are fond of saying that if a Buddhist monk is begging and is given meat, he should eat it. This fondness is attributable, it seems to me, to a conscious or unconscious desire to make Buddhism palatable to a society like ours that is organized fundamentally around breeding animals for food and other products.

However, it does a disservice to the Buddhist teachings by falsely portraying them, and reduces the positive transformative impact of these teachings. The central Buddhist teachings emphasize practicing nonviolence and compassion to all sentient beings, and awakening to the complete interdependence of all living beings, and the interconnectedness of the welfare of all beings.

It also goes against the Buddha’s explicit teachings. For example, in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Buddha says to the assembled

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monks, “If one sees that there is much meat, one must not accept such a meal. One must never take the meat itself. One who takes it infringes the rule.” This is very clear, and as another example, in the Brahma’s Net Sutra, he says, “Disciples of the Buddha, should you willingly and knowingly eat flesh, you defile yourself.” These teachings are repeated strongly in many other sutras, including the Lankavatara Sutra and the Surangama Sutra, both of which are foundational Mahayana Buddhist scriptures. The cardinal precept in Buddhism is not to kill, and animals are always explicitly included in this injunction.

Religious teachings are often twisted to conform to our animal-food-based cultural conditioning.

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Furthermore, the Buddha often warned lay people not to cause animals to suffer and be killed for food, so the possibility of monks being given meat to eat was remote. In the Jivaka Sutta, for example, people are warned against giving meat to monks: “If he offers to a Buddha or a Buddha’s disciple what is not allowable, in this fifth way he stores up much demerit.” Those who would like more in-depth understanding can refer to many books on this subject, including “Buddhism and Animals” by

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Ethical Eating and Religion | Dr. Will Tuttle Dr. Tony Page, “The Great Compassion” by Norm Phelps, and “To Cherish All Life” by Zen Roshi Philip Kapleau.

It’s remarkable how the original teachings of highly-evolved and sensitive people get twisted in order to rationalize behavior that directly contradicts their original intent. As people yearning to bring more kindness, sustainability, health, and harmony into our world, it’s important to understand this tendency and see how it operates, and to do all we can so that no one ever puts a hunk of animal suffering into anyone’s bowl. We’re all on a spiritual path, after all, whether we know it or not.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Will Tuttle, Ph.D., composer, pianist, and Zen priest, is author of the best-selling “The World Peace Diet” and creator of The World Peace Diet Facilitator Training.

Find out more about Dr. Will Tuttle by visiting his website here.

Learn more about Dr. Tuttle’s World Peace Mastery Programs by clicking here.

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REVIEWS

AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Ladybug Jane

VegWorld’s Pick Of The Month

VegWorld’s

Pick of the month Ladybug Jane:

Inspiring Kids to care for themselves and the planet

“

It all starts with … One Choice, One Step, One Change.” This is the motto of an adorable cartoon character, known as Ladybug Jane, who we highlight as VegWorld Magazine’s pick of the month for March 2013.

Ladybug Jane’s mission is to inspire us all – young and old – to make a difference; to help ourselves get healthy and to help keep the environment healthy. She is the star of the awardwinning animation short featured above. She is also a growing fixture in schools as an ambassador and teacher about personal health and the environment.

Ladybug Jane is the brainchild (and alter-ego) of Jane May Graves, a vegan, actress, model and recovered scientist. The character was inspired from a dream Jane had when her mom

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VegWorld’s Pick Of The Month was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

Her mom’s diagnosis inspired Jane to research the link between the environment, chemicals, and disease.

She soon discovered the rampant use of toxic chemicals in personal care products and cosmetics. Inspired by her findings, and desire to share that information with others, Ladybug Jane was born.

Ladybug Jane was created to inspire people – young and

The success of Ladybug Jane led to the old – that we can all make a difference in the world. launch of a health- and eco-conscious product line. We love the Ladybug Jane line of vegan, flavored lip balms, for example. These all-vegan, healing balms include only pure ingredients and, more importantly, are made without any beeswax, chemicals, nuts, petroleum or GMOs. Have a look at Ladybug Jane’s website by clicking here.

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OFF THE

BOOKSHELF

Effortless Mind

Effortless Mind | Ajayan Borys

Effortless Mind

by Ajayan Borys

T

his month we feature a sample of the brand-new release by Ajayan Borys, “Effortless Mind.”

Beginners and long-term meditators alike will appreciate Ajayan’s counterintuitive teaching that one needn’t control the mind to experience the benefits of meditation.

Instead, as with falling asleep, ease is essential. Effort fuels accomplishment in the world of action, but in the realm of meditation, struggle blocks success. And just as dreams are a natural part of restful sleep, thoughts during meditation are no obstacle to receiving wonderful, revitalizing results.

With clear, user-friendly instruction, Ajayan presents classic techniques that can empower even beginners to experience deep, effective meditation and can help veterans go deeper. Offering eye-opening insights about finding growth and bliss in everyday life, “Effortless Mind” is filled with the practical and inspirational wisdom of a consummate teacher.

Chapter 1 What Is Meditation?

Jesus did it. The Buddha did it. Mystics, saints, and sages of spiritual traditions from around the world, and throughout the ages, have spent countless hours doing it. Why has meditation been at the core of the human search for truth and meaning throughout the millennia? Why meditate? What is it?

Albert Einstein once wrote, “The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.” It seems that the attraction of meditation has,

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traditionally at least, been just this: it offers a window into the mystery of our very existence. Meditation is the Hubble Space Telescope for exploring the vast inner space of the soul. Yet here, no external instrument is required; you can meditate on the shores of a holy river, in the comfort of your bedroom, or even in the bus on your way home from work. Only the mind and awareness are needed, nothing else. Meditation is simply the mind turning within to look upon itself.

So what happens when the mind turns within? There are hundreds of forms of meditation, and each may give rise to a variety of experiences. (As we shall see, the inner space of the mind is vast.) Yet all successful forms of meditation have at least one thing in common: sooner or later, they make the mind’s activity subtler. Put another way, through meditation you transcend your ordinary mental activity to experience quieter and deeper levels of mental activity that are closer to the core of your being.

There are subtle and gross levels to everything. This book in your hands, for instance, appears to be solid and more or less inert matter, but this is only at the gross level of the book’s existence. Were you to enter into it more deeply, you would discover that this book is not inert at all. It consists of innumerable molecules shimmering with motion. Were your investigation to go further, you would discover that these pages hold inconceivable power at the subatomic level. Transcending even this level, the subatomic particles that compose this book dissolve into a state of pure potentiality. This pure, abstract potentiality is described by quantum field theory as the vacuum state. This book that you hold in your hands is truly a mystery beyond comprehension. The energy it contains is unimaginable, and on the deepest level of the book’s existence it is interrelated with the entire universe.

This is no less true of you and me. We, too, have many levels to our existence.

Just as we normally see only the most superficial level of the book, so we ordinarily see only the most superficial level of the body and mind — the gross material body and the conscious thinking mind. Yet just as with the book, the subtler levels hold immense energy and potential, and it is the allure of these deeper levels that has fascinated adepts of meditation throughout the centuries. These deeper levels are much more intimate with our essence and source. Indeed, they hold the very secrets of our existence.

This is why at the heart of all the great spiritual traditions of the world, there are various forms of meditation — spiritual practices that quiet the mind to allow seekers to explore the deeper regions of their being. The mystics of the world’s spiritual traditions discovered that as their vision opened to VegWorld Magazine

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these hidden layers of life, the presence of the Divine became an immediate, vital experience — and they have universally declared that this experience requires no special talent. It is open to any and all who are willing to dedicate themselves to exploring their own inner depths.

Of course, meditation also offers many practical benefits for mental, emotional, and physical health — and because it’s a direct experience, it requires no particular religious or spiritual belief. Whether you are interested for spiritual or other reasons — such as to sleep better; to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; to improve physical health; or to tap your latent creative potential — just regularly meditate as instructed in this book. All that you want lies within you, in the depths of your own being. You need only access it.

The Two Essential Principles of Meditation Before you set out to explore your inner depths through meditation, it’s important to understand a couple of essential principles. These two principles will open the door to actually experiencing the full range of meditation, from the conscious thinking mind to your inmost core. In fact, after these, all else amounts to just the details of particular techniques. They are: 1.

Real meditation takes place with sublime ease.

2.

Thoughts are a natural feature of meditation.

Essential Principle 1. Sublime Ease

Perhaps you have the impression that meditation is hard to do. It must be for a gifted few with orderly, peaceful minds, right? Nothing could be further from the truth. Meditation can be easy for anyone. In fact, as you’ll soon see for yourself, it has to be easy or it won’t work. That’s why the principle of ease is essential to every practice in this book.

Yet this principle appears to contradict common sense: to achieve anything of value in this world requires effort. Just look around. Humankind’s greatest achievements — in science and technology, in building corporations, in the creative arts — have been the product of effort. And those who made the effort to discover, build, or create those achievements also made the effort to acquire the knowledge necessary to excel in their fields. When it comes to meditation, however, the only effort required is to make the time to do it.

Granted, this can be a challenge in our busy, achievement-oriented society, VegWorld Magazine

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but once you’re actually sitting down and you close your eyes and begin, no effort is required. In fact, effort at that point will land you further from success.

Why does effort yield positive results in nearly everything except the process of meditation? Simply put, achievement in the world is in the field of action, in the field of doing; meditation is in the field of being. Meditation is about doing less and less until you are doing nothing, simply being, abiding in the core of your innermost Self. At that point, the ego-mind, which is accustomed to always doing and trying, has temporarily dissolved. This is why meditation is effortless, why it must be effortless: the ego-mind can’t dissolve itself by doing. Doing only keeps it intact.

In this respect, meditation is much like falling asleep (another common case of shifting from the waking state to another state of consciousness). Consider what happens every night when you go to bed. You turn off the lights, lie down, and after some time passes, you fall asleep. When it comes, sleep comes effortlessly. Other than setting up the proper conditions for sleep — turning off the lights, lying down comfortably, and so on — you can’t do falling asleep. In fact, as every insomniac knows, the more you try to fall asleep, the more surely you will lie awake tossing and turning. Only when you completely forget about trying to fall asleep does sleep come.

The same holds true for meditation: making an effort to meditate only interferes with the process. You will have the best meditation when you approach it with the innocence of a child falling asleep. The child is simply tired, and so nature takes over and sleep comes, with ease. As Christ said, the kingdom of heaven is within you, and you must be as innocent as a child to enter it.

Throughout our lives we have all learned to make an effort to one degree or another in order to achieve our goals. This may bring us success in the world, but not peace or fulfillment. For fulfillment, both the inner and outer aspects of life need to be full. We must become as expert in the field of being as we are in the field of doing. This will not only bring inner peace and well-being, but it will also allow us to tap our full creative potential to be even more successful in our active lives.

Essential Principle 2. Thoughts Are Okay What is the greatest obstacle to meditation? When I ask this question of students in my classes, I usually hear one of two things: “I don’t have the

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time to meditate” or “My mind is just too active to meditate.” Notice that both of these relate to being too busy: either my life is too busy or my mind is too busy. In any case, let’s consider each of these separately, starting with the time issue.

I empathize with anyone with a busy life. But is a busy schedule really a good reason not to meditate? As Mahatma Gandhi is reported to have said, “I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.” He makes a good point. Just consider how important your mind is to the quality of your life. Your mind is the filter through which you experience everything. The quality of every experience, of every moment of your life, is colored by the quality of your thinking, of your awareness. If you are well rested, relaxed, clear, creative, happy, peaceful, you’re going to enjoy your life a whole lot more and achieve a whole lot more. If your productivity and the quality of your entire experience of life can be improved by spending a few minutes a day meditating, isn’t that a good investment of time? Meditation pays back that time with megadividends and improves your health and vitality as well. So the fact is, the busier you are, the more important it is to meditate.

You just need to put the quality of life, creativity, and productivity at the top of your daily to-do list.

Now, what of the “my mind is too busy to meditate” issue? Everyone’s mind is incredibly busy. We all have lots of thoughts; estimates range from thirty thousand to eighty thousand thoughts each day. Whatever the actual number, it’s a lot. Yet a busy mind is not an obstacle to meditation. As a wonderful teacher of mine, Mata Amritananda Mayi (Amma, “the hugging saint”), once said, “To say that only those with quiet minds can meditate is like saying that only those with perfect health can go to the doctor.” Those with busy minds are the ones who need meditation the most. That’s all of us!

Having lots of thoughts does not pose an obstacle to meditation, but the idea that you shouldn’t have thoughts in meditation does. In fact, this can be a huge obstacle to meditation. This idea will pit you against your own mind, because it will make you try to suppress your thoughts. That is, you’ll break the first essential principle of sublime ease. Besides, the battle against thoughts is a battle you just can’t win. The very nature of your mind is to think; that’s what a mind does. If you pit yourself against the nature of your mind to think, there will be a loser, and it will be you!

Here is an experiment you can try in order to see this for yourself. See if you can control your mind. Pick something — anything at all — to focus on, and try to focus exclusively on that without any thoughts interrupting your focus VegWorld Magazine

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for a minute, or even for just fifteen seconds. Seriously, give it a try....

How did you do? Interesting how, the moment you try to focus, other thoughts crowd in. It’s almost like magic. The mind’s very nature is opposed to control; just like you, your mind wants to be free. So let it. Don’t oppose your mind; work with it. That’s the Tao of meditation. We don’t control the mind, and yet the mind does quiet down. The mind becomes controlled, but not by you or me; rather — and this is a great secret of meditation — the mind can be effortlessly controlled by its own nature.

How can the unruly mind control itself? Well, actually the mind is not so unruly. There is a method to its madness, and that method is this: the mind is spontaneously drawn to greater pleasure, greater happiness. The freedom your mind wants is precisely the freedom you want: to seek your own happiness.

Aren’t we all naturally drawn to what we feel will make us happy? This is true whether we seek a satisfying career, a wonderful soul mate, a beautiful home, car, boat, the latest smartphone, our favorite dessert, sex, fame, wealth — whatever we feel might bring us happiness. The mind automatically feels attracted to it. We can’t help it. This draw toward greater happiness permeates the mind. In the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Happiness is a ball after which we run wherever it rolls, and we push it with our feet when it stops.”

I would go so far as to say that this pull toward perceived happiness is to the mind what the law of gravity is to physical objects — it is that powerful a force within us, invisibly driving humanity in all its endeavors. The good news is that when it comes to meditation, this powerful force is not an obstacle. Yes, those who try to control the mind will find its restless search for happiness to be an obstacle. For them the mind will be like a monkey jumping wildly from limb to limb. Yet as my first teacher, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, used to say, the mind is not a wild monkey at all, but a bumblebee going from flower to flower in search of nectar. Once we understand this, we can simply point the mind in the direction of that nectar of greater happiness instead of trying to forcibly control it. The mind’s own nature will begin to work for us instead of against us. This is the great secret of effortless meditation.

So, where is greater happiness for the mind? Simply put, it is in transcending to subtler levels of the mind. Once you approach meditation with ease, you will discover the great charm that lies within, in the inner peace, stillness, expansiveness, intelligence, and creativity at the quieter levels of awareness.

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Once you stop trying to control it, your mind will discover that the experience of its own depths is true nectar. Meditation is said to bring you to what in Sanskrit is called ananda, a state of bliss. You don’t need to force your mind to go to bliss; you need only point your mind in the right direction and let go, and the law of gravity of the mind — the draw toward greater happiness — will do the rest. This is why the Tao of meditation works best. This is the practical way to control the mind, not by any exertion. You will see just how to do this as we progress through the book. Every technique in this book is based on this principle.

Does this mean you won’t have thoughts while meditating? Not at all. As long as you have a mind, you will have thoughts. But once you allow your mind to transcend toward the charm that lies within, the thoughts become less and less significant. Let them come and go; they are not your concern. In this way, you become released from the grip of thoughts; your mind is freed to follow its natural attraction to peace, stillness, expansion, and inner delight.

And at times the thoughts will cease, and at that point you will be in the state of “no mind.” (More on this later.)

To better understand how thoughts can coincide with deep meditation, allow me to offer a final metaphor. Think of your mind as an ocean. Until now you’ve been hanging out on the surface of that ocean — the conscious thinking level — bouncing from one thought wave to the next, buffeted by desires, musings, worries, irritations, ambitions, insights, and so on. Once you start to meditate, you slip beneath the surface and begin to descend into the depths of your mind. As soon as you slip beneath the surface, you experience inner silence; and as you descend, the silence becomes deeper, richer, and filled with the light of being. Yet the waves on the surface will likely continue. The whole ocean does not have to become perfectly still for you to experience the inner silence of meditation. You can abide deep within, drawn by that increasing peace and well-being, while thoughts go by on the surface of your mind. And now and then you will rest on the ocean’s floor, where all is still....

Pure Being and Your Inmost Self Up to this point I’ve made several references to the term being. I’ll continue to refer to it throughout the book as well, because it’s something you will experience in meditation. To understand what I mean by being, let’s consider in more detail what happens in meditation.

I have said that meditation makes the mind’s activity subtler. But what does

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this mean? Essentially, you begin with awareness of the object of meditation at the conscious thinking level. This object could be a mantra, an inner image, your breath, or sensations within your body, to name a few possibilities.

Through the process of meditation, you then become aware of that object at a subtler or quieter level of mind, where the boundaries of thought are fainter and more abstract. Then you transcend to still quieter levels, until your awareness of the object is just a faint impulse of consciousness. Then even that faintest impulse may dissolve. At that point you are not asleep — you are still aware — but there is no longer any object of awareness. There is only awareness itself — simple, pure awareness, unrestricted by any boundaries of thought or experience.

In that state of pure awareness, you are no longer doing anything, you are no longer thinking; you are simply being. You are beyond all activity. So I use the word being as both a noun and a verb: you are in the state of pure being (noun), and you are simply being (verb). Yet this state of being transcends all things and all actions. It also transcends the mind, which otherwise is constantly engaged in thought. For that reason, pure awareness is sometimes called the state of “no mind.”

Much could be said about this state of pure being, but a particularly significant point is this: it is the most interior aspect of you. It is your highest Self. To appreciate this, let’s try an exercise. I’d like you to try to intellectually locate the essence of you — that is, attempt to answer the question “Who am I?” Philosophers from both East and West have long asked this question.

Plato, for instance, echoed an ancient Greek aphorism when he said, “Know thyself.” Why should we do so? Because the answer promises to tell us something important about the meaning of life, at least about the meaning of our lives. Realizing the Self has been the Holy Grail for spiritual seekers in many cultures throughout the millennia. So let’s try it.

Let’s start this inquiry from the most obvious level, the physical body. It is only natural to strongly identify with your body. For instance, if you have a flu virus, you may say, “I am sick.” Yet it is your body that has the virus. Is your body who you really are? Isn’t it true that there is something interior to your body that is more essentially “you”? Try to find that inmost essence of you.

For instance, what is a more intimate aspect of you in your experience right now? You may notice, for instance, that your thoughts or feelings are somehow closer to you than your body is. Is that who you are, then, your thoughts and feelings? But your thoughts and feelings come and go. Isn’t it true that something else, an even more intimate aspect of you, underlies your VegWorld Magazine

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thoughts and feelings? What is that?

The sages of the East have for centuries identified that un-derlying “Self” as simply the awareness in which all thoughts and feelings occur and on which all experience depends. You must be aware to perceive, to think, to feel. Your awareness underlies all these, and all these occur within the “space” of awareness. What could be more interior to you than this abstract inner space of consciousness? Anything else would be an object of awareness.

Awareness, then, is ever the pure subject, the knower, the seer. It is the most intimate aspect of you, your inmost Self. Pure awareness is unrestricted by any boundary of thought or experience, and so your Self is unbounded, infinite. It is beyond form, entirely nonmaterial; your Self is pure Spirit. As the Katha Upanishad attests, “The Self that is subtler than the subtle and greater than the great is lodged in the heart of [every] creature” (1.2.20).

So this is the range of Effortless Mind meditation: from the conscious thinking mind to your inmost, universal Self. However, if this discussion seems abstract to you, or you don’t especially care about the spiritual dimension of meditation, you can still meditate and receive all the practical benefits for your body and mind. As my first teacher used to say, if you water the root — the field of pure being, pure awareness — all aspects of the tree of your life will flourish and you will enjoy the fruits.

Now let’s prepare for the direct experience of being, with a simple, practical exercise — the yogi’s secret advantage — that will help ensure your meditation is effortless and profound.

Did you enjoy this sample of “Effortless Mind?” Pick up your own copy by clicking here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ajayan Borys has instructed and guided thousands of meditation students in North America, Australia, Europe, and India. The host of Mind Matters Radio on Alternative Talk Radio, he teaches workshops and retreats on meditation and spiritual relationships in the Pacific Northwest and the Himalayas. He lives in the Seattle area.

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